>> A few years ago I had a 150 mW white LED formally evaluated by its >> manufacturer. This is a very low power level by most standards for power >> white LEDs. To my surprise it=A0 constituted a eye hazard at the blue en= d of > . th?e spectrum when assessed to the relevant standard. While in this cas= e the >> chances of anyone staring into the beam from the minimum distance for lo= ng >> enough was vanishingly small, in other situations and with LEDs in the 1 >> Watt + class, real hazards may exist. > I think you are right. I have noticed some of the=A0 white LED=A0 have hi= gh=A0 >=A0outt below what most people are capable of seeing. I was using a laser= =A0 >=A0power meter to measure the output of different LED and found some LED= =A0 >=A0that appeared to have a higher output on a meter but didn't appear=A0 >=A0brighter to my eyes, some seemed dimmer. >The only thing that made sense to me was that they were outputting more=A0 > light in the non-visible spectrum . I have also seen white LED that are= =A0 > capable of being used for exposing UV film on PC boards so those LED=A0 >=A0have to be outputting some UV as well. They=A0definitely=A0put out UV. I visited a salt water aquarium shop and I = commented on the=A0fluorescence of the corals and some fish. I asked what t= hey were using for "black light"=A0and was told they just used a combinatio= n of blue and white LEDs. Later the facility I work at got one of their=A0a= quariums complete with light source and I was able to get a close look and = confirm--just blue and white LEDs. Roger --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .